Sarah Malinda Blalock and her husband, William McKesson “Keith” Blalock, lived in Coffey’s Gap on the Watauga and Caldwell County line in 1860. Keith Blalock was an avowed Unionist, but with the first Confederate conscription act imminent, he enlisted in the 26th North Carolina Infantry on March 20, 1862, hoping to get close enough to Union lines to desert. Malinda Blalock enlisted the same day, concealing her identity as a woman and passing as Sam Blalock, Keith’s younger brother. Once in the army, Keith Blalock concluded that his plan would not work, so to obtain a medical discharge for his existing hernia, he stripped and rolled in poison oak, developing a rash that made him unfit for service. He was discharged on April 20, and Malinda Blalock was also discharged after revealing her identity. They returned to the mountains, where Keith recovered, but Confederate conscription officers soon came after him, driving him into the wilds of Grandfather Mountain. There he began guiding escaped Union prisoners and dissidents from Blowing Rock, across Grandfather Mountain near Shull’s Mill, and into Banner Elk. On June 1, 1864, he enlisted in Company D, 10th Michigan Cavalry and continued to scout in the High Country, inciting or participating in several skirmishes in the area and losing an eye. Malinda Blalock may have dressed as a man again and accompanied Keith, but firm evidence has not been found. After the war, the Blalocks moved briefly to Mitchell County, then went to Texas, later returned to North Carolina, and settled in Montezuma, where both are buried in the Montezuma Community Cemetery.